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Game 3: Post-Game Notes

For those of you who had hopes of an undefeated season...well, those got squashed early.

In all seriousness, Somerset looked pretty good in their first series of the year against the Long Island Ducks, gutting out an Opening Day win and putting up nine runs the next night. Today, however, they ran into a strong outing from an opposing starter -- this time Bobby Blevins -- and they dropped the final contest of the three-game slate by a score of 6-3.

Zach Kroenke, making his first appearance for the team, was better than the "L" next to his name would indicate, which seems to be how his 2013 season went as well. He allowed three runs on five hits in five innings of work, and was getting some ugly swings on his high-80's fastball.

"He (limited the damage)," manager Brett Jodie said. "He wasn't as sharp as I think he will be, but he definitely didn't give up the big inning, which kept us in it. Obviously, I think he wants to be sharper than that, and we need him to be. He'll be fine as we move forward."

Added catcher Damaso Espino: "I thought he was really good. Kroenke has good stuff, and he has a lot of experience. In the first inning, he wasn't as loose as he'd like to be, but he battled. I felt like they got some unlucky hits and it probably took him out of his rhythm."

-- Losing Dennis Raben hurts this team. A lot. Everyone is happy for Raben, as they should be, after seeing him head to High-A Inland Empire with the Los Angeles Angels organization just before gametime, but losing his power in the middle of the lineup really stings.

If nothing else, unlike when the team lost Jake Fox in August of last year and was essentially unable to replace him, this happened just two games into the season. Jodie and director of player personnel Jon Hunton will have plenty of time to address the hole he's left on the roster and in the lineup.

-- Aharon Eggleston was not injured when he was removed from the game after six innings, and is expected to be available for the upcoming series just as any other player would be.